Trip Reports - LAX-LHR-JNB-HKG-NRT-HKG-NRT-HKG-SYD-LAX PART one

This mini mileage run was part of my OWE to qualify for EXP on AA and Platinum on QF. Quite a short but wonderful trip. I will describe the flights breifly but I will list menus for each flight in detail.

BA 268 LAX -LHR first class
Arrived at LAX at 5 PM for a 8:40 PM flight. The Tom Bradley terminal was packed. The first class lounge was small and was filled with BA and QF passengers . Food was very good and consisted of finger sandwiches and grilled vegetables with foccacia bread. The lounge was very busy, but I was able to connect to the Internet and do some work in the meantime. Our flight was to be very busy in coach and business but only 5 out of 12 seats were reserved in first class. Plane was a 747, and of course the BA first class section was located downstairs. Upon entering the plane, I was so happy to see the BA pods which IMHO are very comfortable. At my seat of 2K were almonds, and a film selection card for the 25 videos possible on this journey. There were 3 FA for 5 passengers. The seats had a blanket, a duvet, a sleeping suit, and an amenity kit already placed. It took no longer than 2 minutes for a FA to arrive and ask for my drink order for ANYTHING I wanted....not just water, OJ or champagne... Had a diet coke and as I was served menus were passed out. However, I first was able to change into my pajamas for the 9 hour 30 minute journey. How wonderfully relaxing this trip did begin... Anyway here is the menu..

FIRST COURSES
Maine Lobster and papaya salad with raspberry vinaigrette

Tomato tarte Tatin with goat cheese and rocket cream

Clam chowder

Mixed seasonal salad served with balsamic olive oil, blue cheese dressing or extra virgin olive oil


MAIN COURSES
Fillet of beef, morel mushroom sauce, potatoes dauphinoise and green beans in pancetta

Teriyaki-glazed salmon with baby bok choy and rice noodles

Lemon and herb chicken Caesar salad

Freshly cooked penne pasta with your choice of sun-dried-tomato pesto or bacon and Gorgonzola cheese sauce served with freshly grated Parmesan cheese


ALWAYS AVAILABLE

The great-all-day English breakfast

Continental Breakfast

Hot Bacon Roll

Shepherd's Pie


CHEESE, DESSERT and FRUIT

A selection from our cheesboard

Hot chocolate fondant with earl Grey tea creme anglaise

Cappuccino Mousse

Selection of fresh fruit

BEVERAGES
Espresso, Cappuccino coffee, or tea

Selection of herbal teas

WINE LIST
CHAMPAGNE
Piper-Heidsieck Rare

WHITE WINES
Chassagne-Montrachet, Marquis de Laguiche, 2001, Joseph drouhin

Sancerre La Chappele des Augustins, 2002, domaine Henri Bourgeois

Edna Valley chardonnnay, 2000

RED WINES
Chateau du Tertre, 1996, Grand cru Classe Margeaux

Chivite Coleccion 125 Reserva, 1997, Navarra

Carmenet Dynamite North coast Merlot, 1999

The flight seemed so short as after this wonderful dinner, I was able to watch BRUCE ALMIGHTY, then go to bed on the 6'6" seat that BA has, and awoke 1 hour outside of LHR. The flight was to arrive at 3PM and my flight to JNB was to leave at 7:30 PM .... More later

NEXT SEGMENT LHR-JNB BA 55 First class

Arrived at LHR and quickly transferred to the CONCORDE room. The flight from LAX arrived at T4 and the flight to JNB departed from T4 so my connection was easy. After going through security I did a little shopping and arrived at the Concorde room. As as been described here before the food and drink are second only to the WING at HKG. The menu had salads, sandwiches and hot selections as well as afternoon tea. I had a full afternoon tea which consisted of tea, tuna sandwich, salmon and cucumber sandwich, soup and the best carrot cake I have ever had. This was followed by a "snack" of a Caesar Salad. I do not recall the champagne being served but it was flowing freely. About an hour after I arrived the lounge became very crowded with people on the Concorde flight to JFK. The lounge became VERY loud and congested however, and I took my leave to go do some work at the Internet stations. Very fast connections here and it was a pleasure.... Our gate was 7 for the JNB flight which was fairly close to the lounge....certainly closes than gate 21 where I had to leave from last time I was in LHR.
This next flight was packed to the gills....every seat in every class was filled. I saw something very interesting. A business class passenger was trying to upgrade to first. When he was told there was no room he politely suggested that someone be removed from first class to accomadate his upgrade. What made this so interesting is the BA rep told him that "you are lucky to be sitting in business class, as your ticket is already upgraded" The BA rep was quite polite but this guy tried to get himself a little double upgrade on the house....
This plane was filled with vacationers to South Africa. It had a very party type of atmosphere...
I arrived at my seat of 2K again, and a very wonderful appetizer of salmon and fillet mignon was at my seat already . I quickly was brought a diet coke. Everyone in the first class section was given a sleeper suit. About half of us changed into the suit before take off.

THE MENU

APPETISERS

Michel Roux's lobster and tabouleh salad

Glazed Pecorino cheese and potato tart

White bean and oregano soup

Mixed seasonsal salad served with your choice of dressing


MAIN COURSES

Grilled fillet of beef, roast shallot and balsamic butter werved with a small baked potatoe, roast vine plum tomato and mushrooms

Vineet Bhatia's pan fried spiced halibut, upma-Indian couscous, raw mango julienne and turmeric sauce. I HAD THIS OPTION AND IT WAS INDESCRIBALE. It was spicy but outrageous.

Roast guinea fowl with truffle stuffing, truffle and cepe reduction and potatoes fondantes

Aubergine and mushroom timbale with roast peppers and pimiento coulis


LIGHTER OPTIONS

Warm garlic chicken Manoucher sandwich

Freshly cooked penne pasta with your choice of tomato, artichoke and smoked paprika or roast mushroom and thyme cream sauce served with freshly grated Grana Padano cheese


DESSERT

Vineet Bhatia's Reshmi Mithai-chocolate silky torte with pine kernel, cashew and pistachio nut brittle

Rhubarb and honey crumble with custard

Selection of fresh fruit


CHEESEBOARD SELECTION

Capricorn, Mull of Kintyre, Gubbeen, Blue Wensleydale, and Rustique Camembert cheese

BEVERAGES

CHOCOLATES


BREAKFAST

Freshly squeezed fruit juice

Our special wake-up energising smoothie of banana, cocomut and mango

Fresh fruit
Natural or fruit yoghurt

Warm breads and breakfast pastries


HOT CHOICES
Classic British Breakfast of freshly scrambled or boiled eggs, grilled bacon, pork sausage, sauteed mushrooms and grilled tomato

Mushroom omelette

Banana toasted brioche with maple syrup butter

Champagne was same as on the LAX-LHR flight. Wines were similar. This flight lasted 10 hours and 30 minutes. It seemed so short as dinner lasted about 2 hours, the movie lasted 2 hours and the entire first class cabin fell into a slumber. The FA had to wake all 12 of us for breakfast... I could smell the fresh coffee as the FA awoke me..shortly after that the smell of eggs and bacon... ah! what a great flight.......We landed exactly on time...Next installment soon.....

Great report so far! I am jealous you are in F, as i have to slum it in J. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

I can't believe someone was trying to blag an upgrade at Heathrow - he can't know much about how BA function there. Getting blood from a stone is easier.

Thanks for the nice report. I saw in your (RTW4) profile that you are a writer. What do you write ? Drop me a mail if you do not want to post it here.

RTW4

You fly some of the finest itineraries I've ever seen! Thanks as always for your fine reporting, along with those menu transcripts.

With the exception of the soups and wines, the entree choices look to be exactly the same as I had on my SFO-LHR-SIN flights back in April. BA must have a number of menu cycles. I wonder how many...

Thanks for the first class report! I love the menu transcripts and BA food seems to improve much!
Look foward to the rest of your report!

Carfield

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Swanhunter:


I can't believe someone was trying to blag an upgrade at Heathrow - he can't know much about how BA function there. Getting blood from a stone is easier.</font>

Great report ! thanks RTW ! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I too found the above very intersting, he actually had an economy ticket , was upgraded to biz and was complaining about not being in First ? What a fool!

This is a great itinerary!

Where's Part II? I, for one, would love to read more! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif

I have been travelling but will find the time to sit down and complete this report. Thanks for the interest

Thanks RTW - this is outstanding. I feel like I am in 2K (I can always dream).

I still need 4500 miles for EXP - your report has given me a great idea..)).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Seat 2A:
BA must have a number of menu cycles. I wonder how many...</font>

One every six months. Love the upgrade attempt - what an idiot!